12-18-2018, 08:35 PM | #1 |
Private First Class
102
Rep 123
Posts |
Is OEM Coverage Necessary?
I just purchased a used 2016 M235i and absolutely love the car. It's my first BMW and by far the nicest vehicle I've ever owned. A friend recommended I pay extra for OEM insurance coverage to ensure if, god forbid, I ever needed to make a claim, it would be fixed with OEM parts. I called my insurance company today and was quoted a $120 increase annually for this coverage. The agent said though that there might not be many CAPA certified aftermarket parts for the car and this coverage might not be necessary because the only parts available would be OEM. I looked into this on CAPA's website, and it doesn't seem like there are many certified aftermarket parts, so I'm thinking I can do without the OEM coverage and save the $120.
Does anyone have thoughts on this? If I were ever involved in an accident, I would take it to the best collision shop in the area since the quality of the work matters just as much as the quality of the parts. |
12-18-2018, 08:52 PM | #2 | |
Major General
5054
Rep 6,347
Posts |
Quote:
__________________
2015 228i 6MT/Track Handling/Tech/Cold/Premium/Lighting/Driver Assistance/KCDesign Strut Brace/M2 LCAs/Rogue SSK/BBS SR/PS4S/ER Chargepipe/AA Intercooler/Dinan Shockware/MPerformance Spoiler/Black Grilles/Xpel Ultimate PPF & Prime XR+ Tint/Adam's Ceramic/no CDV
2024 X3 sDrive30i/MSport/Premium/Dynamic Handling/Shadowline/Parking/Xpel Prime XR Plus/Weathertech Cargo Liner |
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-18-2018, 11:06 PM | #3 |
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
I don't know how the laws are in your state with auto insurance but in Hawaii and Oregon, you have the choice to take your car to any body shop of your choosing. BMW certified body shops will only use BMW OEM parts (I confirmed with a local BMW certified shop) so you wouldn't need that extra coverage.
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 07:54 AM | #4 | |
Major General
5054
Rep 6,347
Posts |
Quote:
__________________
2015 228i 6MT/Track Handling/Tech/Cold/Premium/Lighting/Driver Assistance/KCDesign Strut Brace/M2 LCAs/Rogue SSK/BBS SR/PS4S/ER Chargepipe/AA Intercooler/Dinan Shockware/MPerformance Spoiler/Black Grilles/Xpel Ultimate PPF & Prime XR+ Tint/Adam's Ceramic/no CDV
2024 X3 sDrive30i/MSport/Premium/Dynamic Handling/Shadowline/Parking/Xpel Prime XR Plus/Weathertech Cargo Liner |
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 09:08 AM | #5 | ||
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
Quote:
|
||
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 11:15 AM | #6 | |
Major
473
Rep 1,306
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 11:30 AM | #7 |
Major General
5054
Rep 6,347
Posts |
But, the point is that the insurance company has no obligation to provide coverage in excess of the policy limitation. Some of the above examples may have been an adjuster trying to close the case at the lowest possible spend, but for a policy which actually did cover OEM parts. It does help to have a good service oriented insurance company (e.g., Chubb, Cincinnati Financial, etc.) and to read the details of your coverage. Ultimately, if your policy allows aftermarket parts, the insurance adjuster can stand his ground at that reimbursement level, no matter what the bodyshop charges. The insurance company's responsibility is to provide reimbursement to their customer, the vehicle owner. The vehicle owner pays the bodyshop or authorizes direct payment.
__________________
2015 228i 6MT/Track Handling/Tech/Cold/Premium/Lighting/Driver Assistance/KCDesign Strut Brace/M2 LCAs/Rogue SSK/BBS SR/PS4S/ER Chargepipe/AA Intercooler/Dinan Shockware/MPerformance Spoiler/Black Grilles/Xpel Ultimate PPF & Prime XR+ Tint/Adam's Ceramic/no CDV
2024 X3 sDrive30i/MSport/Premium/Dynamic Handling/Shadowline/Parking/Xpel Prime XR Plus/Weathertech Cargo Liner |
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 11:55 AM | #8 |
Colonel
4096
Rep 2,925
Posts |
It has been a while since I had to wrangle this (and fortunately not w/ the BMW). The way they explained it, the insurance company is responsible for the car being satisfactorily repaired, so you need a body shop willing to go the distance to advocate that you NEED oem parts to achieve 'satisfactory'. They can and do assume aftermarket/used is 'acceptable' or 'equivalent' but, at least with my policy, they could not truly require these if they weren't actually acceptable. So what had to happen was that the body shop had to get and install the crappy misfit bumper cover, take a pic to show it was almost an inch too narrow, and then were authorized to order the OEM cover. At the time, finding a workable body shop was fairly straightforward - most of them flatly told me they weren't going to spend the time to try to override insurance company estimates, or would 'have to use what they were told' - not surprisingly, the shop with strong recommends for high-quality show cars was happy to discuss how they would work with this (also worked out well for the paint matching, which is also an area of skill and perseverance).
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-19-2018, 12:35 PM | #9 | |
Major General
5054
Rep 6,347
Posts |
Quote:
__________________
2015 228i 6MT/Track Handling/Tech/Cold/Premium/Lighting/Driver Assistance/KCDesign Strut Brace/M2 LCAs/Rogue SSK/BBS SR/PS4S/ER Chargepipe/AA Intercooler/Dinan Shockware/MPerformance Spoiler/Black Grilles/Xpel Ultimate PPF & Prime XR+ Tint/Adam's Ceramic/no CDV
2024 X3 sDrive30i/MSport/Premium/Dynamic Handling/Shadowline/Parking/Xpel Prime XR Plus/Weathertech Cargo Liner |
|
Appreciate
1
Maynard4096.00 |
12-19-2018, 12:42 PM | #10 | |
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
1
Maynard4096.00 |
12-19-2018, 07:20 PM | #11 |
Private First Class
102
Rep 123
Posts |
Thanks for weighing in, guys. I appreciate your stories about how this tends to play out. I'm planning on keeping my current coverage (without the OEM mandate) and taking it to a BMW certified body shop if the need ever arises. As I mentioned earlier, there are very few CAPA certified parts available for the car currently, so they would have to use OEM parts no matter what. A front or rear bumper may be the only argument, but I think I'd win that one after going back and forth.
Hwntime, what dealership in Portland did you go to? Kuni or Portland BMW? |
Appreciate
0
|
12-20-2018, 09:14 AM | #12 | |
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-27-2018, 02:42 AM | #13 | |
Colonel
1537
Rep 2,578
Posts
Drives: 2011 328i Wagon
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Westbrook, Maine, Port Charlotte, Florida
|
Quote:
I went through this when my '08 Saab was damaged fore and aft in two separate minor accidents within two weeks of each other (neither my fault) when it was only a year old. And we all had the same insurance company (what are the chances). They REALLY pushed for using "remanufactured parts" aka used. Offered all sorts of extra warranty coverage, etc. I insisted on OEM new Saab parts, which about doubled the cost of repair. Still only about $7K on a $40K car. Two new headlights were $1800 of that (halogen, at that). The front damage was super annoying. The car was parked in front of my barbershop, I was in getting a haircut. An idiot in an F150 pulled into the parking space in front of me, caught the rear edge of my front bumper cover with the end of his rear bumper, and literally ripped the front end of my Saab off. Broke every single piece of plastic on the front of the car, including the headlight mounting ears. And since the plastic belly pans mount to the front, broke all of those too. And the fender liners. Pretty impressive actually. Not so much as a scratch on the paint. Then I got rear-ended in a snowstorm two weeks later. Hadn't even gotten the first damage fixed yet. $4500 for the front, $2K for the rear, all plastic parts. No metal work needed at all. Just paint the two new bumper covers and put it all back together again.
__________________
'11 328! Touring - Tasman on Chestnut, 6spd manual, factory upside-down "i" option '11 128i Convertible - Space Gray on Savannah Beige, 6spd manual, also '14 Mercedes-Benz E350 wagon, '95 Land Rover Discovery, '74 Triumph Spitfire |
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-27-2018, 09:48 AM | #14 | |
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
Quote:
|
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-27-2018, 10:19 PM | #15 | |
Colonel
1537
Rep 2,578
Posts
Drives: 2011 328i Wagon
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Westbrook, Maine, Port Charlotte, Florida
|
Quote:
Which Portland, the original or the fake? If the original, howdy (summer) neighbor!
__________________
'11 328! Touring - Tasman on Chestnut, 6spd manual, factory upside-down "i" option '11 128i Convertible - Space Gray on Savannah Beige, 6spd manual, also '14 Mercedes-Benz E350 wagon, '95 Land Rover Discovery, '74 Triumph Spitfire |
|
Appreciate
0
|
12-28-2018, 06:45 AM | #16 | ||
Captain
277
Rep 823
Posts |
Quote:
|
||
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|